Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
McBride (2002) found that the elasticity of net returns with respect to the
probability of adoption of herbicidetolerant cotton was +0.18.
22
Bernard et al.
(2004) found that adopting HT soybeans improved profits on Delaware farms.
However, Fernandez-Cornejo et al. (2002) and McBride and El-Osta (2002)
found no significant difference between the net returns of adopters and
nonadopters of HT soybeans. Bullock and Nitsi (2001) found that HT soybean
farmers are less profitable than their conventional counterparts. Overall, the
empirical evidence on the impact of adopting herbicide-tolerant soybeans on
net returns is inconclusive (NRC, 2010).
23
The fact that several researchers found no significant differences between
the net returns of adopters and nonadopters of HT crops (particularly HT
soybeans) despite the rapid adoption of these crops suggests that many
adopters may derive nonmonetary benefits from HT adoption. In particular,
weed control for HT soybeans may be simpler, freeing up management time
for leisure, enterprise growth, or off-farm income-generating activities.
HT crop adoption increases farm household income and has non-
pecuniary benefits.
ERS research shows that HT adoption is associated with
higher off-farm household income for U.S. soybean farmers, most likely
because time savings are used to generate income via off-farm employment
(Fernandez-Cornejo et al., 2005). ERS researchers found that a 10-percent
increase in the probability of adopting HT soybeans is associated with a 16-
percent increase in off-farm household income. Household income from
onfarm sources is not significantly associated with adoption of HT technology
(Fernandez-Cornejo et al, 2007). These findings corroborate the notion that
technology adoption is influenced by (or influences) the tradeoff between
household/operator time spent in onfarm and off-farm activities. More
recently, Gardner et al. (2009) confirm that genetically engineered crops lead
to household labor savings in U.S. crop (corn and cotton) production. Using
corn and soybean data, Marra and Piggott (2006) demonstrate that there are
non-pecuniary benefits to GE crop adoption and show that farmers adopting
GE crops place a monetary value on the convenience, flexibility, and increased
worker safety associated with growing HT crops.
Adoption and Pesticide Use
Many studies based on field tests and farm surveys have examined the
extent to which GE crop adoption affects pesticide (insecticide and herbicide)
use, and most results show a reduction in pesticide use (table 4).
